You're Perfect (Just The Way You Are)
by Hannahmayski
Summary: At 18, everyone gets a tattoo on their skin. It just appears, blooming across their skin. Painless ink forming pictures, patterns and shapes that are entirely unique to that person and their soulmate. Everyone gets a tattoo. Everyone except Sasuke, apparently. Day 7 of Uchiha Week


**Summary: At 18, everyone gets a tattoo on their skin.**

 **It just appears, blooming across their skin. Painless ink forming pictures, patterns and shapes that are entirely unique to that person and their soulmate.**

 **Everyone gets a tattoo.**

 **Everyone except Sasuke, apparently.**

* * *

At 18, everyone gets a tattoo on their skin.

It just appears, blooming across their skin, painless ink forming pictures, patterns and shapes that are entirely unique to that person and their soulmate.

Everyone gets a tattoo.

Everyone except Sasuke.

Sasuke is 20 and his skin has no wonderous patterns, no ink spreading across his skin, a promise that he will never have to be alone. The tattoo is a promise that there is someone out there waiting for him, ready to hold him in their arms, a future full of love and a companion to stand by him no matter what.

Instead, Sasuke has no much promise. No one awaits him anxiously. No one's arms are open in anticipation that he can one day, run into.

Instead, he only sees a promise of loneliness.

Sakura was laying on his bed when her tattoo appeared. Soft vines wrapping around her arm, stretching up to her neck, flowers of all different colours and all different kinds blooming. She smiled at him, a little sad when she realised Sasuke possessed no such tattoo, but her soulmate would be out there, waiting and ready.

Ino came to school on the last day, flowers decorating her arm in the same beautiful pattern.

They kissed in front of the always disapproving principal.

No one found out about Shikamaru's tattoo until Chouji had bribed it out of him, a full 6 months after his 18th.

A confusing swell of swirls and lines, all black and running across his shoulder blades. Beautiful in the plain, subtle way that is so _Shikamaru._

Sai was an interesting introduction into their group, with more secrets than Sasuke could wrap his head around. But the same interesting swirls and lines marred Sai's shoulder blades.

Sai and Shikamaru were an odd couple, and whatever horrendous secrets Sai clutched close to his heart, Shikamaru seemed to be able to not only handle it but ease the ache as well.

Even Naruto, his idiot friend Naruto had leaves curled around his ankle, little specks of sand splattered around it in such an intricate way, Sasuke could stare at it for hours.

Gaara had cried when Naruto had shown it to him, and he was able to show an identical copy. For all of Gaara's troubles, Sasuke was glad to see Gaara happy.

Even Naruto has a soulmate mark.

Sasuke gazes at his all too pale skin, illuminated purples and blues from the flashing lights that Tenten had managed to buy from likely a questionable source for Shino's 21st next Wednesday. Putting them on now seemed like a good time as any to test if they worked.

There are no marks on his skin aside from freckles and scars.

He glances over at Kiba, sitting next to him.

Kiba and Kankuro have been together since, now that Sasuke thinks about it, before Kiba turned 18. But he's never seen a mark on Kiba, and he's never seen a mark on Kankuro.

Akamaru sits his head on Kiba's lap as Kiba runs his hands through Akamaru's fur and Sasuke tries to build up the confidence to ask him.

Akamaru tilts his head towards Sasuke, and dogs shouldn't be able to look at him with such a human look, but Akamaru seems to be the most emotionally stable out of all of them. Ironically.

Akamaru shuffles his head enough to give Sasuke's hand a comforting lick. Of course, since Kiba and Akamaru are basically same person (Akamaru being the better half, he's sure Kiba would agree) Kiba glances up at him, a soft frown to his face.

"Do you have a mark?" Sasuke blurts out. He cringes inwardly, of course he had to go and make it awkward.

Kiba - because he's the oddest person Sasuke has ever met – just chuckles. "Nah, never had one!"

He looks over at Kankuro, a fond look on his face. "Kankuro's never had one either."

Sasuke takes a breath and leans back into the couch. "Weren't you scared?" he asks, his eyes closed.

Kiba stays silent for a while, and Sasuke waits for him to say he was never scared, brush it off like it never bothered him.

Kiba licks his lips and surprises him again. "Of course I was," Kiba says, looking at Akamaru. "But a while ago, I decided I just didn't care."

Sasuke breathes in again, breathes out and rolls his shoulders.

Who knew that Kiba – the weirdest person he knows – would end up giving the best advice?

"Thanks," Sasuke says, and it comes out with more emotion than he intends, but Kiba doesn't call him out on it, instead he shoots him a wink and finally allows Akamaru to clamber onto his lap despite being about 10 sizes to big.

Sasuke's got a whole life ahead of him, and now, he intends to live it.


End file.
